Local News

With U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder still deciding how exactly to respond to our new marijuana legalization law, one state lawmaker hopes a trip to Olympia is in store for the country’s top law-enforcement official.

State Rep. Chris Hurst, D-Enumclaw, sent a letter to Holder on Friday, inviting the attorney general to come to town for Hurst’s hearing next week on a bill regarding enforcement of the law.

“If Washington’s attempt at replacing the criminal market with a carefully controlled and regulated legitimate market is to be successful a close partnership to enforce state and federal drug laws against those remaining entities who operate outside the law will be necessary,” wrote Hurst, who chairs the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee. “I would like to offer an invitation to you or your representative to attend next Tuesday’s hearing.”

Will the late invitation — sent on Friday for a Tuesday hearing across the country — be accepted?

A call to the public affairs division of the Office of the Attorney General was not immediately returned.

House Bill 2000, sponsored by Hurst, would tweak provisions related to fines for violators, the price of permits for growers and sellers, and how close a marijuana store can be to schools, among other changes.

Holder told a congressional panel last week that he expects to make an announcement “relatively soon” about new marijuana laws in Washington and Colorado.

Good Morning, All:

Pot poll: A new Gallup poll says a majority of Americans want the feds to leave Washington and Colorado alone, as in, don’t mess with their new marijuana laws.   More and more people are saying the same thing. Former President Jimmy Carter told CNN this week, he’s for legalizing marijuana.  Carter has been fairly libertarian on this topic for some time.

State Rep. Chris Hurst
Independent Dem-Enumclaw

Pot committee: Any state that has legalized marijuana, as Washington has just done, obviously needs a state legislative committee to oversee the new pot law and regulatory infrastructure. Meet state Rep. Chris Hurst,  a former Black Diamond police commander and Tukwila detective and member of the so-called Roadkill Caucus of moderate Democrats in the Legislature. With all the excitement in Olympia about who is in charge in the Senate, the House has put Hurst in charge of a new committee that handles pot, alcohol, gambling, tobacco and government efficiencies. They had a hard time naming it, quipped Hurst. It was somewhere between SIN and VICE.

Inslee on clean energy: Publicola has a piece by Gov.-elect Jay Inslee outlining his environmental agenda. State Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, liked what the incoming gov wrote, but wondered why he didn’t get into the whole coal train issue, (not to be confused with Coltrane. )

Every new gov needs an editor, no?

Facebook: So, the Seattle Times Politics team has a new, post-election Facebook page. As with all new Facebook pages, we need likes and friends.